Sanitary agent

ABSTRACT

A sanitary agent for treatment of a sanitary appliance includes a solid or semi-solid active body, with a treatment compound having at least an active element for treatment of the sanitary appliance and at least a non-ionic surfactant. The treatment compound includes at least an adhesive element derived from colophony resin, destined to realise adhesion of the active body to a wall of the sanitary appliance. In this way, good adhesion of the sanitary agent to the sanitary appliance to be treated is obtained.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a sanitary agent for cleaning, disinfecting and/or perfuming a sanitary appliance.

In particular, the present invention relates to a sanitary agent comprising an active body, which can be solid or semi-solid (more or less pasty), which can adhere to an internal wall of a water-closet bowl or a urinal, remaining attached for a high number of water flushes, with a small part thereof dissolving each time, up to its final consumption.

BACKGROUND ART

Sanitary appliances, for example hygienic toilet bowls or urinals fixed to a wall, have to be subjected to repeated cleaning and disinfecting operations in order to be able to maintain adequate hygienic sanitary conditions.

The prior art comprises hanging sanitary agents by means of hooking devices positioned in the water closet container, where one exists; the emission of the sanitary agent occurs at each discharge flush operation into the bowl.

Also known are sanitary agents which are fixed to the perimeter edge of the toilet bowl by means of a support; these sanitary agents are normally inserted in particular devices, like cages, provided with the support means, such as for example a plastic bracket, and which also include slits and/or holes such as to enable a portion of the sanitary agent to exit at each flush of the water.

The above-described sanitary agents, when struck by the water which irrigates the toilet bowl, enriches the water with the substances contained in the agents, thus providing the elements required for deterging, descaling, deodorising and/or disinfecting the bowl.

However, the above described hygienic devices present some drawbacks, such as for example not guaranteeing an adequate anchoring to the perimeter edge of the bowl due to the fragility of the support means, with the consequence that there might be a possible accidental fall of the sanitary agent contained in the sanitary agent into the toilet bowl.

Further, these devices are not very practical and hygienic; during manual cleaning of the edge of the toilet bowl or during the cleaning of the inside of the bowl by use of the toilet brush, the support means fixed to the edge of the bowl can be accidentally shifted and it is therefore necessary to reposition it. Further, on substitution of the sanitary agent, due to its consumption, it is necessary to act manually with ensuing operative and hygienic difficulties for the user, as the devices are often positioned in poorly-accessible places, in any case not ideal from the hygienic point of view.

Further, it is difficult to apply these devices to urinals, as urinals are generally lacking in edges or parts in relief on which the support means can be fixed. In the case of urinals or urinal bowls, pastilles are often use, positioned in the lower part thereof, at the position of the drain. However, these pastilles are generally partly washed away by the water flush and also cause undesired backsplash.

In recent times alternative solutions have been looked for, by eliminating the presence of the devices having a support means to be fixed to the perimeter edge of the bowl.

The prior art comprises certain solutions to the above-cited problem, in which sanitary agents, in particular solid or semi-solid soaps can adhere stably to the internal wall of a WC bowl or a urinal in order to be subjected to regular water flushes.

European patent EP 1 086 199 in the name of Buck-Chemie GmbH describes a sanitary agent which can be applied directly on the surface of the sanitary appliance, the sanitary agent having a viscosity of at least 15,000 mPas and comprising an adhesion promoter such as poly oxy alcohol alkane, cellulose, etc. However this excessive viscosity can fail to guarantee adequate removal of the limescale deposits and a homogeneous distribution of the detergent contained in the sanitary agent.

Further, during use, the sanitary agent deforms, causing the components constituting it to drip downwards in an undesirable way. A further disadvantage is given by the fact that in order to be applied adequately to the part of the sanitary appliance, the sanitary agent described in the patent application obligatorily requires the use of a batching system normally constituted by rigid plastic material, with the consequence of an undesired and significant use of plastic material.

Thus an alternative must be sought which enables good adhesion while at the same time guaranteeing sanitary-hygienic treatments of the sanitary appliance which are satisfactory.

For example, international patent application, published at no. WO2008/100393 (corresponding to application U.S.2008/0190457) in the name of Johnson & Sons discloses a solid soap able to adhere to the surface of the bowl and at the same time guarantee adequate cleansing; however, the soap necessarily contains a very high quantity of solid surfactant, in particular an anionic surfactant of the

alkyl benzene sulphonate type (known as LAS), between 75 and 99% in weight of the weight of the soap such as to enable sufficient adhesion to the surface of the bowl.

Such a high percentage of anionic surfactants leads to high costs, as well as a negative environmental impact, especially when substances are used which derive from benzene, such as the above-cited LAS surfactants.

Even today the technical problem persists of having available a sanitary agent which: a) exerts a satisfactory and lasting cleaning action and/or perfuming and/or disinfection of a sanitary appliance, b) has no need of considerable manual operations for removal of eventual adhesive residual portions of the sanitary agent at the end of its use, and c) has a portion which adheres appropriately to the internal surface of a sanitary appliance during use thereof, and in particular d) has a low environmental impact, in particular enabling realisation of a strong adhesive action while making use of a relatively very low percentage of anionic surfactants present in the composition.

Therefore the aim of the present invention is to provide a sanitary agent for treatment of a sanitary appliance which constitutes an alternative to the solutions provided by the prior-art documents as cited above.

In particular, the aim of the present invention is to provide a sanitary agent for treatment of a sanitary appliance, the sanitary agent comprising at least an adhesive component and at least a component that is useful for the treatment, the adhesive component being capable of enabling the sanitary agent to remain in adherence for a large number of water flushes to a sanitary appliance of any shape and, at the same time, once the component of the sanitary agent used for the treatment is consumed, to be easily dissolved in the water of further flushes.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

In a first aspect, the present invention relates to a sanitary agent to be used for deterging, disinfecting and/or perfuming a sanitary appliance.

The present Applicant has found that a sanitary agent for treating a sanitary appliance, comprising an active body, solid or semi-solid, including a treatment compound having at least an active element for treatment of the sanitary appliance and at least a surfactant of a non-ionic type, characterised in that the treatment composition further comprises at least an adhesive element deriving from colophony resin (pine resin), dispersed in the material of the active body and destined to realise adhesion of the sanitary agent to the wall of the sanitary appliance, such that the adhesion lasts for a high number of water flushes, and the sanitary agent dissolves substantially completely at the end of the operating cycle thereof without having a negative impact on the environment.

In this context and in the following claims, the term “sanitary appliance” is understood to mean a water-closet toilet bowl, a urinal bowl, a urinal or any other like apparatus which is usually subjected to water flushes in order to maintain cleanliness and hygiene thereof.

In this context, and in the following claims, the term “treatment of a sanitary appliance” is understood to mean cleaning, hygienising, disinfecting, perfuming and removing limescale, and other like operations applicable to the sanitary appliance.

In this context and in the following claims, the term “active element for the treatment” is understood to means an element dedicated to cleaning, deterging, foaming, perfuming, deodorising, disinfecting, water-colouring, polishing, or any other element which is soluble in water and useful for the treatment to which the sanitary appliance is to be subjected.

In this context and in the following claims, the term “semi-solid body” is intended to mean a body having a pasty consistency, or having a consistency which is such as to be modifiable in shape by manual pressure, but such as to maintain over time the given shape, even following the action of weak external forces, such as a water flush or discharge.

In this way, whatever the form of the wall of the sanitary appliance to which the sanitary agent is to be made to adhere, the shape of the sanitary agent can be appropriately modelled on the basis of the shape of the wall in order to guarantee good adhesion. This shape can be maintained over time, except for the reduction in mass due to its dissolving by action of the flush water.

The sanitary agent of the present invention can be consumed progressively and appropriately at each flush of water of the sanitary appliance, such that first the active element for the treatment of the sanitary apparatus progressively dissolves in the water of the flush. Thereafter, after a series of water discharges, the adhesive element of the sanitary agent begins to be exposed to the action of the water which, in combination with the residual part of the treatment compound, enables complete removal of the adhesive element.

In this way, when the treatment compound has been consumed, only a small portion of the adhesive element remains in contact with the wall of the treated sanitary appliance, becoming easily removable by means of appropriate cleaning tools for the sanitary appliance, such as brushes and the like.

The derivative of the colophony resin is preferably a terpene derived from colophony (rosin); more preferably, the terpene is linear colophony ester, such as for example Bremasin 1205.

Colophony is a yellow solid vegetal resin (abietic anhydride), which is transparent and a residue of distillation of turpentine (Pinus Palustris conifer resin and other pines in the Pinaceae family).

The quantity of the adhesive element derived from the colophony resin is preferably comprised in the range 0.1-20%, more preferably in the range 0.1-10% in weight with respect to the total weight of the sanitary agent.

As mentioned herein above, the sanitary agent comprises a treatment compound having at least an active element for the treatment.

The active element is preferably a detergent element, a perfume or a disinfectant.

The quantity of the at least an active element is preferably comprised in the interval from 1-75% in weight with respect to the total weight of the sanitary agent.

The at least a non-ionic surfactant is preferably selected from a group consisting in long-chain alcohols (from about 10 to about 20 carbon atoms), such as polyoxyethylene derivatives of fatty acids, starch alkanols of fatty acids, alkyl polyglucosides (APG), natural and/or synthetic etoxylated alchohols, amine oxides.

The quantity of the at least a surfactant is comprised in the range of 25-80%, more preferably in the range of 50-75% in weight with respect to the total weight of the sanitary agent.

The treatment compound preferably comprises, in addition to the at least a non-ionic surfactant, at least a further surfactant selected from among the group of anionic surfactants, cationic surfactants, amphoteric surfactants or combinations thereof.

The anionic surfactants are preferably selected from the group consisting of compounds having carbon atom chains ending with a caroxylate or sulphanate group, such as for example soaps, alkyl ether sulphates (LES/AES), alkyl sulphates (LS/AS), a-olefin sulphonates (AOS), alkyl ether carboxylates, sulphosuccinates, aromatic sulphonates.

The cationic surfactants are preferably selected from the group consisting of long carbon atom chains (from about 10 to about 20 carbon atoms) terminating with a quaternary amine group, such as for example alkyl hydroxyethyl dimethyl ammonium chloride, banzalconium chloride, cetyl-trimethyl ammonium bromide or chloride, hexadecyl-trimethyl ammonium bromide or chloride, and the like.

The surfactant amphoterics are preferably selected from a group consisting of amino carboxyl acids, alkyl betaine, such as for example 12 betaine, starch alkyls, propyl betaine, and amphoacetates.

The quantity of the anionic surfactants is relatively very low, or even nill; it is preferably comprised in the range 0.1-8%, more preferably in the range 1-4% in weight with respect to the total weight of the sanitary agent.

The treatment composition preferably comprises at least an inorganic salt; more preferably, the at least an inorganic salt is selected from among the group consisting in sulphates in various stages of hydration, monovalent and bivalent metals, such as for example sodium sulphate or magnesium sulphate; monovalent and bivalent metal carbonates and bicarbonates, such as for example sodium carbonate, magnesium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate; monovalent and bivalent metal chlorides, such as for example sodium chloride.

The quantity of the at least an inorganic salt is preferably comprised in the range from 10-70%, and more preferably in the range from 10-20% in weight with respect to the total weight of the sanitary agent.

The treatment compound can preferably further comprise various agents, such as for example bleaches, perfumes, disinfectants, colorants, dispersants, plastifiers, in quantities from 0.1 to 30% in weight with respect to the total weight of the sanitary agent.

In a second aspect, the present invention relates to a method for deterging, disinfecting and/or perfuming a sanitary appliance characterised by direct application thereof on the wall of the sanitary appliance to be treated of a sanitary agent such as the above-described ones, according to both the first and the second preferred embodiments of the present invention.

Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will more clearly emerge from an examination of the detailed description of non-exclusive preferred embodiments thereof, by way of non-limiting example.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Example 1 Sanitary Agent 1 (Invention)

The first treatment compound for a sanitary appliance was prepared as follows:

Non-ionic surfactant mergital CS25 (cethearet25)   70% Sodium sulphate 15.60%  Anionic surfactant alkyl sulphate Texapon V95 2.00% Sodium citrate 2.00% Non-ionic surfactant glucopon 50 g 2.00% Foamer DERIPHAT 160 C (Cognis) 1.00% Perfume 3.00% Colorant 0.40% Wetting agent 2.00% Linear colophony ester - Bremasin 1205 typ 2.00%

The compound 1 was prepared by mixing the various components in a laboratory twin-arm mixer with about a 1 Kg capacity at ambient temperature, leaving it to mix for about 30 minutes up to obtaining a homogeneous, plastic and modellable paste, until the sanitary agent 1 is obtained. The sanitary agent 1 presented as a semi-solid active body, with a substantially flattened-cylinder shape, with a diameter of the base surfaces of about 4 cm, and a height (thickness) of about 0.4 cm, having a total weight of about 12 grams.

The sanitary agent 1 was made to adhere to the hard surface of the internal wall of a toilet bowl, following a flushing of the toilet and pressing it against the wall of the sanitary appliance to be treated for about ten seconds, to guarantee good adhesion.

The sanitary agent 1 was subjected to a series of 100 homogeneous water flushes, which caused progressive release up to complete consumption of the treatment compound, leaving a residue of colophony resin of less than 3% of the initial quantity of the colophony present in the sanitary agent; this rosin residue was easily eliminated by using a toilet brush.

In this way, using the sanitary agent 1 of the present invention, a good adhesion of the sanitary agent to the sanitary appliance to be treated was obtained, even with only a relatively very low percentage of anionic surfactant, as well as an efficient hygienisation of the sanitary appliance; and at the same time it was not necessary to touch non-hygienic zones of the sanitary appliance (the toilet bowl) with the hands in order to remove the residues of the sanitary agent 1 at the end of its use phase. Finally, it was not necessary to use an applicator object in order to position the sanitary agent correctly without entering into contact with the walls of the toilet bowl.

Sanitary Agent 2 (Comparison)

Like agent 1, agent 2 was prepared, which was different from sanitary agent 1 in that the formulation of the treatment compound did not include the adhesive element derived from the colophony resin.

Treatment compound 2 comprised:

Non-ionic surfactant mergital CS25 (cethearet25) 72.00%  Sodium sulphate 15.60%  Anionic surfactant alkyl sulphate Texapon V95 2.00% Sodium citrate 2.00% Non-ionic surfactant glucopon 50 g 2.00% Foamer DERIPHAT 160 C (Cognis) 1.00% Perfume 3.00% Colorant 0.40% Wetting agent 2.00%

The mixture was prepared similarly to what was reported for example no. 1 The sanitary agent 2 obtained using treatment compound 2 and having the same dimensions as sanitary agent 1, was subjected to the same treatment as the sanitary agents.

In this case, differently to example 1, a poor adhesion of the sanitary agent 2 to the surface to be treated is obtained. After a few flushes, in fact, the sanitary agent 2 detached from the surface to which it had been made to adhere.

From these examples it can be seen that the addition to the treatment composition of a derivative of colophony resin enabled the sanitary agent 1 of the invention to adhere satisfactorily to the surface to be treated, even in the present of a relatively very low percentage of anionic surfactant, differently to what is observed with the comparison sanitary agent 2, which is lacking in the derivative of the colophony resin. 

1. A sanitary agent for treatment of a sanitary appliance, comprising a solid or semi-solid active body, including a treatment compound having at least an active element for treatment of the sanitary appliance and at least a non-ionic surfactant, the treatment compound further comprising at least an adhesive element derived from colophony resin, dispersed in the material of the body, and configured to adhere the active body to a wall of the sanitary appliance.
 2. The sanitary agent of claim 1 wherein the adhesive element is a terpene derived from colophony resin.
 3. The sanitary agent of claim 2 wherein the adhesive element is a linear colophony ester.
 4. The sanitary agent of claim 1, wherein the quantity of the derivative of colophony resin is comprised in a range of 0.1-20% in weight with respect to a total weight of the sanitary agent.
 5. The sanitary agent of claim 4, wherein the quantity of the derivative of colophony resin is comprised in a range of 0.1-10% in weight with respect to the total weight of the sanitary agent.
 6. The sanitary agent of claim 1, wherein the at least an active element is a detergent element, a perfume or a disinfectant.
 7. The sanitary agent of claim 1, wherein the quantity of the non-ionic surfactants is comprised in a range of 0.1-8%, in weight with respect to the weight of the sanitary agent.
 8. The sanitary agent of claim 1, wherein the non-ionic surfactant is in a weight quantity of from 25% to 80% with respect to the weight of the sanitary agent.
 9. The sanitary agent of claim 1, wherein the non-ionic surfactant is selected from the group consisting of: polyoxyethylene derivatives of fatty acids, starch alkanols of fatty acids, alkyl polyglucosides (APG), natural etoxylated alchohols, synthetic etoxylated alchohols, amine oxides and combinations thereof.
 10. A method for deterging, disinfecting and/or perfuming a sanitary appliance, the method comprising: applying on a wall of the sanitary appliance to be treated, and adhering thereto a sanitary agent comprising a solid or semi-solid active body, including a treatment compound having at least an active element for treatment of the sanitary appliance and at least a non-ionic surfactant, the treatment compound further comprising at least an adhesive element derived from colophony resin, dispersed in the material of the body.
 11. The sanitary agent of claim 1, wherein the quantity of the non-ionic surfactants is comprised in a range of 1-4% in weight with respect to the weight of the sanitary agent. 